A life of Air
by ass-sassin
Summary: Arietty longed for freedom, but her duty was to the council, to Republic City, and most importantly, to Aang... to his memory - he was her grandfather after all. Will the young bender be tempted off course by a Fire Nation Prince? Will she dutifully take her seat at the council of Republic City? Or will she fulfill her destiny and restore the great sky temples of the Air Nomads?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

_The little Airbender walked through the desolate temple, her grey eyes big with her blossoming curiosity. She trekked up, up, up – all the way to the highest point of the foreign temple. _

_She reached the last flight of stairs, noting the shadow of a meditating man, cast smoothly down the steep incline by the orange glow of the slowly setting sun. She looked up, her eyes brightening as she saw the strong, firm outline of a man who could only be her grandfather. _

"_Grandpa! Grandpa!" she called, her tinkling laugh echoing as she used swaths of air to propel her up several stairs at a time. _

"_Grandpa!" she cried gleefully as she ran to him, but he did not turn. _

_She frowned, her fair skin creasing between her brows as she slowed to a stop._

"_Grandpa?" she called, stepping forward. _

_Still, he did not turn. _

"_Gramps?" she asked, her voice dropping to a whisper as she reached out to touch his shoulder. _

_She jerked back as her hand fell upon empty air. She tried to touch him again, but her hand fell into nothingness rather than his warm shoulder. _

_Her eyes widened in horror, as she carefully traced around to his front. His eyes were closed. _

"_Grandpa Aang?" she squeaked fearfully, the tranquil surroundings not feeling as inviting as they once had. _

_His eyes shot open at the same moment his whole being seemed to glow with an ethereal blue hue. _

_Still in his meditational stance, he seemed to rise. _

_The little girl reached out, grasping at his robes in attempts to stop his ascent. Alas, her efforts were fruitless as his transparent form evaded her tiny hands. As so he rose higher and higher. She cried out for him, lost and alone – in utter despair and grief. _

_And then she was standing in a hut – one that looked startlingly akin to her great Uncle Sokka's. A woman was gently rocking a child in her arms beside the fire. The little girl called out to the lady, but once again she received no reply. _

_The woman lifted the sleeping newborn, gently resting the child's head onto her shoulder. _

_The baby's eyes shot open. They glowed an unearthly blue. _

She woke screaming. Her senses were in overload. A mini hurricane tore around her room, trashing the childish neatness it had acquired. She was vaguely aware of shouting outside her door, but her young mind was in too much turmoil to care.

Someone stepped into her room, creating a ball of air around them to avoid being swept away in her emotional torrent.

She hadn't realised she was sitting until someone sat beside her. It was her grandfather.

He encircled her into his arms, "Shh, little Arietty, I'm here. Grandpa's here," he whispered soothingly, stroking her long, dark hair.

Without further ado, she blurted out the contents of her dream, ending in barely comprehendible babble – but a babble that Aang understood, nevertheless.

And so he sat her tenderly on his knees and looked her straight in her puffy grey eyes, "Arietty, sweetheart," he began in a low murmur, swiping away a stray tear with a gentle brush of his thumb, "I always knew you were special," he whispered, smiling softly at her.

She offered a shaky smile, the images of the glowing baby still fresh in her mind.

"But you know I'm the Avatar, sweetie," he said in a low voice, "And you know what I always say? Just as the cycle of the seasons pass, the-"

"The cycle of the Avatar must pass too… I know, grandpa," she finished, looking up at him, fear alight in her inquisitive eyes. "B-but grandpa, doesn't that mean when the new baby comes… you have to go?"

Aang sighed, though she was barely five, the little Airbender was always very intelligent and it didn't always work in her favour.

His silence was an answer enough for her. Her eyes widened even further, and she sat up straight, looking as though she were about to shout something… but her shoulders slouched and she blinked rapidly, "B-but, what happens when we _need_ you?" she mumbled in a small, shaky voice.

Aang laughed light heartedly, "Oh, but you know the answer to that, Arietty!" he sobered, a small grin playing at the corners of his mouth, "I'm always with you," he placed his large palm over her heart, "In here," he moved his other hand to gently rap on her head, "and in here!"

Arietty giggled, yawning as she did so. Aang set her back in her small bed and kissed her forehead, making to leave.

"Grandpa?" he heard, just as he was stepping out of the door.

"Yes, Ari?"

"I love you."

Aang paused, a strange twinkle in his eyes, "I love you too, Arietty."

And he closed the door and walked out, more than a little shaken by his granddaughter's dream.

"What was it, father?" Kya asked as he joined them back in the lounge.

Aang smiled, shaking his head as he took his resumed seat, "Nightmares about falling out of the sky," he laughed, "It's an Airbender's worst nightmare!"

They all laughed, no one bothering to question the slight waver in his tone, nor the absence of the usual twinkle in his eye.

_**Read and Review, lovelies :) **_


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter One**_

"Arietty! Come along, Yucca will leave without you!" Kya called to her daughter from where she stood at the base of the stairs.

"Coming, mother!" the grey eyed girl shouted from her loft, hurrying down the steps, donned in traditional Air Bending garb.

Kya grinned, "Hurry along, my brother won't wait forever, you know! He _does_ have other responsibilities in the city!"

"Oh, hush, mother!" Arietty scoffed playfully as they made their way outside, "I was just arranging the present I'm to give uncle! But alas, I'll be off now!"

"Are you sure you want to go the whole way alone? Why not take up Koru's offer and go with him on one of his ships, there's safety in numbers, you know!"

Arietty sighed and turned to her fretting mother, "_Mother_," she sighed, "I can do this. I'm fifteen, and though I'm still young I need to gain some independence! And I'm not your little girl anymore!"

She smiled, "I know, sweetheart, but you are my _only_ little girl. Koru and Nikko are both off leading their own lives… I just don't want to see you leave the nest so quickly…"

Arietty sighed and gave her mother a warm hug, "You know I'll write to you every week, mother," she murmured, "And if you get bored I'll send Yucca to bring you to me!"

Kya laughed, "Oh, don't send the poor Bison all the way to the most western point in the four nations to come get your silly old mother!"

Arietty shook her head as she climbed onto the back of her flying Bison, "My offer still stands! Yucca, yip-yip!" And she was off.

…

"Uncle Bumi!" came Arietty's overjoyed cry as she leapt off Yucca's back, using a blast of air to send her soaring over to her uncle.

"Haha! Ari, m'dear!" Bumi shouted, his loud, exuberant voice booming through the docks.

Arietty was running as soon as she hit the ground, leaping into her uncle's embrace, paying no heed to the crewmen as they unloaded Yucca's saddle.

She laughed as he set her down and gave her a once-over. "You've grown!" Bumi cried affectionately, shaking her lightly by the shoulders.

Arietty grinned and stepped back into a lunge, thrusting her hands out before her. Bumi was blasted up onto the deck of the ship in a swirling jet of immaculately controlled air.

From her spot on the wharf, Arietty heard her uncle shouting something about her being _his_ niece. She gave quick instructions to Yucca to head to Republic City and with an affectionate farewell she opened her glider and made a running start, circling up above the ship before creating a slanted stream of air and sliding down it, her laughter ringing through the air.

Almost as soon as her feet touched the deck, the boat jolted into movement. She grinned over to her uncle, who was swept away to discuss something or another.

She used a gust of wind to propel her to the control room that doubled as a counsel room for the high ranking officers.

"Uncle! Quick question before you get down to business – do you want me to fly up and scout the seas for a bit? I'll be back within half an hour, and I can do a better job than your guys in the crow's nest."

"Arietty, you don't have to-"

"I'll be back soon!" and she leapt off the balcony, opening her glider as she went.

OoOoO

_In._

She inhaled slowly as she flawlessly drew in the air around her, her booted feet padding lightly on the metal floor of the ship as she made her circular rotations.

_Out_.

She released the air from her lungs, breathing into the torrent that she'd formed before her. And then she bended around it, shaping it into a form, the torrent becoming smaller and smaller.

And finally, there was a tiny butterfly of supressed air sitting in her palm.

"We're approaching by Kyoshi Island," she whispered into the flowing air of the pulsing little insect.

She bent it out of her palm and up onto the higher deck where her uncle stood on the balcony, conversing loudly with his commanding officers.

The creature landed on his shoulder. He paused and listened as the air dispensed around him, releasing the sound trapped in it. He let out a mighty laugh, "You," he called down, "have to be the most inventive Airbender I've ever had the pleasure to meet!"

"Hey!" Arietty cried back up, playfully hurt, "That's not much of a compliment, seeing as you've only ever known two others!"

Bumi's booming laugh reverberated around the ship.

As Arietty continued through her Airbending forms, she noticed her uncle talking to a few young men dressed in royal officer's uniforms, but she focused on her stance, continuing in the circular rotations she was taught from a very young age. She was extremely fast as she weaved through the sea breeze, her footing light, but firm.

She then advanced into different forms. She used her bending to blast her off her feet and onto her hands, where she altered her weight from hand to hand, spinning and kicking out swirls and blasts of air as she went. It was complicated and difficult, taking all of her focus as she blasted air out of her hands and made several twirls, before landing on the tip of her right index finger, impeccably balanced.

She held the position for a few seconds before lowering her legs into a split and using their momentum to spin her on the point of her finger, creating a sort of hazy vortex around her. She shot a jet of air from the tip of her finger and spun rapidly in the air, forming an air scooter beneath her. She landed on it in a handstand, balancing precariously before pushing herself out of the handstand, flipping backwards through the air before landing onto it upright.

Then, still balancing carefully, she expertly spun through the air, kicking blasts of air and landing on the tips of her toes. She promptly flipped forwards, landing lightly, poised and ready to begin another round of forms, even more complicated than the previous ones – but the looming form of a man in a royal red uniform stopped her movement.

She looked up into his strikingly handsome face as he spoke, "Greetings, Arietty," he said smoothly, seeming somewhere between his teens and his twenties, "I don't know whether you remember, but am Iroh, and this," he gestured to a boy about her age, "Is my younger brother."

Arietty smiled, "Iroh! Of course I remember you two!" she chirped, her large grey eyes twinkling with undisguised mischievousness, "I quite clearly recall our mission impossible, though I'm not sure whether you do!"

Iroh laughed good naturedly, "How could I forget? The look on the chef's face will be forever imprinted on my mind. But alas, Lu Ten and I are making a trip to Republic City – a trip I believe we'll be sharing with you," he said, smiling kindly down to her.

Arietty grinned cheekily, leaning to look behind Iroh, "Lu Ten! Want to play paper cranes? I'd play with Iroh, but he's too big!"

Lu Ten smiled nervously, "Uh… sure?"

"Great! Come here," she beckoned him. Using a gust of wind to hurl her glider from its perch on the upper deck, she caught it deftly and opened it. "You ride it like this," she hopped up onto the railing and leapt off, hooking her feet into the allocated gaps and securing them over the bars as she held the handles above her head. "To turn, you just need to lean!" she called over, landing lightly back on the railing.

She threw him the open glider, "Oh, and if you want a snack, just twist the handle!"

Lu Ten exchanged a wary glance with his brother before looking back to Arietty, "How do I get off the ground?"

"Oh yeah!" Arietty exclaimed, hitting her forehead with the palm of her hand, "Just climb up to the upper deck and jump off the balcony – don't worry, I'll take care of it from there!"

Lu Ten nervously made his way up to the balcony as Arietty told all the onlookers to clear to the sides of the ship.

As Lu Ten reached the upper deck, he looked down, gulping nervously. "Are you sure I'll fly?"

"Yes! Come along, haven't you ever played paper cranes?" Arietty called up, laughter clear in her voice.

"No!" Lu Ten called back down, a note of hysteria in his tone.

"Oh! Just don't turn the glider off the edge of the ship or I'll have to jump in after you!" Arietty called up, "Now come on, just jump!"

Not wanting to seem weak in front of his brother and the other high ranking officers, Lu Ten climbed onto the railing. He closed his eyes for a moment, psyching himself up before he took a deep breath and leapt off.

Arietty performed a series of complicated Airbending forms as he plummeted, a startled cry tearing from his throat – but then she thrust her fists upwards and a gust of wind propelled him into the air.

And then he was laughing as he soared a ridiculous height above the ship. He circled, watching with new appreciation as Arietty spun and flipped through her Airbending stances, laughing all the same as the force of her upward surges kept him high in the sky.

The freedom… the utter, undiluted freedom made him wish, just for a second, that he was an Airbender. After more than a few blissful minutes, the gusts of wind began to guide him in gentle circles to the deck of the ship. And then he realised his problem. When he was about ten metres from the cold metal, he looked desperately over to Iroh, "How do I land?" he shouted, his expression comical.

Before Iroh could answer, Arietty flipped backwards into a solid hand stand, and Lu Ten felt as though he was being sucked towards the soles of her feet like a magnet. He floated the last few centimetres until her small feet were planted just beneath his ribcage. And then she began falling rapidly backwards. Within seconds Lu Ten found himself on his feet, Arietty's laughing eyes only centimetres away from his.

"Kyoshi Island! There, in the distance!" someone yelled from the bird's nest.

Arietty grinned at her uncle as the onlooking crowd dispersed to their positions. She then faced Lu Ten once more, "So, what'd you think of the game?"

"Uh… what?" Lu Ten asked, flustered by their close proximity.

"The game? Paper cranes?" Arietty asked with exaggerated slowness.

"Uh… yeah, it was – it was amazing," Lu Ten stuttered.

The Airbender frowned worriedly, "Are you alright, Lu Ten?" she raised her delicate hand and placed it on his forehead, "You seem as though you're burning up?"

The Firebender's face flushed even hotter as her hand graced his face, "N-no – I mean – well-"

"Brother! How'd the first Airbending experience go?" Iroh swooped in to the rescue, throwing an arm around his little brother's shoulders with a knowing smirk.

Lu Ten burned even redder than before – something Arietty didn't quite believe was possible.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, bringing her other hand up to gouge the temperature of his cheek, worry marring her features, "Oh, I hope I haven't made you sick!"

Iroh laughed loudly, "Oh, you've made him sick, alright! Lov-" he was cut short as Lu Ten elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

"I'm fine!" Lu Ten exclaimed, gritting his teeth in exasperation at his brother's antics.

"Really? Oh, well I'm off to go do… prince-y stuff," Iroh supplied, slinking off.

With a slight start, Arietty realised she was still touching Lu Ten's face. She let her hands drop as her fair cheeks tinged light pink.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Lu Ten asked, finally regaining his composure.

"A walk? Where, exactly?" Arietty asked, looking around the deck curiously.

Lu Ten pointed to the fast approaching blob of land, "Kyoshi Island would be a good start."

_**R&R!**_


End file.
